This invention relates to methods of insulating batteries, and in particular to methods of insulating thin-profile batteries comprising button-type batteries. The invention also relates to insulated batteries, and in particular insulated thin-profile batteries comprising button-type batteries.
Thin-profile batteries are characterized by having thickness dimensions which are less than a maximum linear dimension of its anode or cathode. One type of thin-profile battery is a button-type battery. Such batteries, because of their compact size, permit electronic devices to be built which themselves are very small or compact. One concern associated with such thin-profile batteries pertains to protecting the batteries from becoming grounded to one another or to other structures comprising a device in which such battery or batteries are incorporated.
This invention arose out of concerns associated with providing methods of insulating batteries, and in particular button-type batteries, and resultant battery constructions which improve upon currently employed methodologies and constructions.
Methods of insulating batteries, and in particular thin-profile batteries comprising button-type batteries and resultant insulated battery constructions are described. In one aspect, a flowable insulating material is distributed over an edge region of a battery and subsequently provided into a generally non-flowable state. In one implementation, the battery is rotated while the flowable material is provided over the edge region. Provision of the flowable material over the edge region can comprise dipping the edge region into a volume of flowable material or dispensing a desired amount of flowable material over the edge region. In another implementation, an insulating jacket is provided over the battery having a minimum thickness of no greater than about 2 mils.